


Bonds We Build

by Aon_Rarsdani



Series: In Destiny We Trust [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Gods & Goddesses, Black Hermione Granger, Bullying, Centaurs, Dumbledore is trying, Elves, Endgame Hermione Granger/Ron Weasley/Harry Potter, Fantastic Racism, Gen, Goblins have been changed, Good Albus Dumbledore, Hermione Granger is a Good Friend, Hogwarts welcomes all children, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Lily Potter's Blessing, Nice Dudley Dursley, Potters are a Noble Family, Ron Weasley is a Good Friend, Swearing, The Ministry of Magic (Harry Potter) is Terrible, Vampires, better elves, house elves? what are those, magic is somewhat sentient
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-08
Updated: 2021-03-08
Packaged: 2021-03-09 23:14:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 10,509
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27960590
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aon_Rarsdani/pseuds/Aon_Rarsdani
Summary: Lily is willing to do anything to help her son survive, so she summons a goddess.Harry leaves behind the scary and awful place that is the house he was made to grow up in and enters the magical world. As he grows up, he finds a family, a new home and saves the world along the way.---What is essentially a revised version of Harry Potter.
Relationships: Hermione Granger & Harry Potter & Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger & Harry Potter & Ron Weasley & Original Female Character(s)
Series: In Destiny We Trust [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2047757
Comments: 3
Kudos: 4





	1. The Boy Who Lived

Dying.

It's crossed everyone's mind at some point. What happens when you die? Will I see anyone I know? Will I go to a gated community behind a gilded fence? Or will I burn doomed to suffer perpetually? Will I go anywhere at all? Or does my vision simply turn black and my breathing stop never to start again?

So many questions that are simply impossible to be answered for the living. Life is such a chaotic ordeal- one of such great exhaustion, no one has the time to think of their death until their downtime. And when they do, it's about celebrations and somber parties blessing your departure from the tangled wire of life. 

There are many reasons to die. Or rather, ways to die. Most pass peacefully in their sleep, gently coaxed into moving on. Others die violent and sudden deaths of bullets for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Some arrange their day of rest putting their life affairs in order and then getting a special shot that sends them off in a blissful manner. Others still die noble deaths, defending those around them with their precious, fickle lives. They become heralded as heroes, an inspiration to a cause for which they died. 

_'Many ways to die indeed,'_ mused the woman.

She held her son tightly in her arms, letting him babble and tell her about his nap. His small one-year-old body wriggling in tune to serious gibberish. He grabbed at her fingers, clumsy hands wobbling as he tugged at her. She smiled warmly down at her little bird, the small child already so enraptured by the concept of flight. She laughed softly knowing if he was given a chance, her son would sprout wings and fly.

Warm hands touched her shoulders and she glanced up and smiled, her husband- a spitting image of her son. They exchanged a gentle kiss refusing to break the intimate air the silence brought.

Her son squealed with joy seeing his father and made grabbing motions. Taking the hint, she handed her son over watching with a fond feeling tickling her heart as her husband blew raspberries on the tiny boy's stomach. Her stomach twisted and she gripped her husband's hand, a nervous sensation blossoming. She looked at her husband and saw her own anxiety reflected in his brown eyes.

Their son demanded their attention with a shout only infants could perform. So young and innocent, not understanding the tense situation he was in. She and her husband obliged and a sense of desperation fueled her as they cuddled him closer. Prickles ran down her skin and lead stabbed her heart a sensation akin to static electricity began tickling her, hair standing up as if lightning was approaching.

"That's him," whispered her husband.

She stood watching him pull his wand from his coat, his eyes becoming hard with determination.

"That's him, take Harry and run!" He said and started towards the door.

"James-" she started, then she steeled her own resolve and fled. She heard the door crash open behind her as He stormed in. James was fighting his hardest and giving her time to protect Harry, their little boy who didn't deserve anything happening right now. She raced up the stairs and darted straight for her son's Nursery. She placed him in his crib, the small child starting to cry as if sensing her despair. 

Knowing magical children, he probably was. 

She cut her finger and her son's too. He cried louder and she soothed him the best she could tracing out symbols on his little arms and legs. One last marking on his forehead ("Avada Kedevra!" she heard and stifled a sob as part of her soul was torn from her) and she tried to stop her tears.

"You'll be alright," she said, choking. She grabbed a stuffed black dog holding it out to him. "Look, it's Padfoot Harry!"

The child continued to cry but took the stuffed animal. She looked into his eyes green as her own- as green as the blasted curse that took James from her. She didn't budge when the footsteps that had been thudding through her house smashed over the door, startling her son back to tears. 

"Stand aside you foolish girl," He hissed over the wailing of her child.

"Leave Harry, Don't touch Harry, Harry's done nothing to you," she pleaded knowing it was useless.

"Severus asked me to spare your life, Lily Potter," He told her. "Stand aside and you will live."

"Spare Harry, kill me," Lily said with tears returning. Her son was crying so loud.

"I gave you your chance."

Lily closed her eyes before glancing at her son knowing this would be the last time she saw him. The way he'd gone silent, he seemed to understand the significance of this too.

"Avada Kedevra!"

Lily flared her magic, not with the intent to fight or defend herself- which was key to this working. She couldn't defend herself, couldn't _want_ to defend herself. It had to be a complete sacrifice with the intent to save her son. Easy. She didn't care if she died; as long as Harry lived. The bloody runes lit on his body seeking the payment for its activation. Lily felt the killing curse smack into her chest and the runes sung, the exchange complete.

\---

Voldemort turned away from the eerily smiling body of the woman and to the child. The child was no longer crying but instead staring at him with those blasted green eyes. He didn't know what the mother had done that her son was alight with green streaks. They emanated a curious power seeming to request something.

It didn't matter what the runes did. The woman was dead and her child would join her for he was Lord Voldemort and his power was great. 

He raised his wand at the strange, not crying toddler and said the phrase that would lead to his victory, "Avada Kedevra!"

The spell hit the small child who did not die. Instead he, Voldemort felt a tearing sensation deep inside. It clawed through his body wreaking havoc, he couldn't stop the gasp of pain it tore free. His body weakened and he snarled with agony and rage feeling the tendrils of his soul that bound him to his body come undone. He grasped frantically at the lost connection, a part of his magic going with the lost tendrils opening a gaping void of empty to form within him.

The room around him exploded shards of wood and glass flying everywhere, and yet he was mostly unaffected grappling with the bewildering reality that the child had lived.

The child!

He glanced into the eyes of the infuriating calm child who now bore a mark on his forehead, blood trickling down his face. He felt a spark of something familiar and rage filled his body sensing his magic- _his magic_ -in the child's body, the bleeding mark. Voldemort rushed the child intent on throttling the small body and tried to grab him. 

He recoiled feeling his entire being burn as if set ablaze by the contact. He scrambled away and gave one last howl of pure anger. He'd destroy that child, one day he would. For now, he turned to the open air and fled. If he wanted that child dead, he'd first need a new body.

\---

Lily watched with nerves in her stomach as **She** watched passively, her expression neutral as the man with the silver beard picked up the silent child. Stepping through the ruins of the house, he crouched and brushed aside a mess of splinters, a suppressed noise of despair bubbling from him. He dragged the corpse from the mess of the broken house and said softly into the air, "Oh Lily, James- we weren't fast enough."

"You tried Albus," said Lily in a whisper though he couldn't hear her. "I know you tried."

Lily glanced up at the woman beside her, ethereal blue eyes unreadable as she took in the scene.

"...the infant." **She** said finally. "He is your son?"

"Yes," said Lily watching as Hagrid took her precious little boy and flew away on Sirius' motorcycle.

"And you sacrificed yourself for him."

"Yes."

"And you're willing to give up your place in the Afterlife for him?"

"James would be too."

 **She** seemed to think her words over and Lily felt hope blossom in her heart for the ritual had been a gamble. A last-minute decision with sloppy rune work from herself.

"You are aware I will be near unable to contact you, yes?" **She** said. "And that I won't be able to send you on completely as long as you've done this."

"I'm aware," Lily said. "Will others be allowed to visit?"

"Visit yes, but only for short periods of time Mrs. Potter."

"Will you protect my son?"

"That is our agreement."

"Then it's worth it."

 **She** finally cracked a smile, a look of approval entering her eyes with white pupils that shone with limitless power. 

"You are a wonderful mother one Lily Potter," **She** said with warmth. "And I will make sure your son lives to know it."


	2. Chapter 2: The World of Magic

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry dips his toes into the magical world for the first time

Almost eleven years, passed since that terrible day. Lily and James Potter had received a large funeral celebrated throughout all of Magical England. All Hallows Eve became the day to mourn the lives of two amazing wizards and their son, the tiny child who defeated the most feared wizard in decades. The boy who lived in spite of everything.

Many eagerly volunteered to watch after the hero child, but after a near-tragic event where the family was a silent supporter of He-who-must-not-be-named took in the child, poisoning his milk bottle, the child was swiftly removed from the magical world and placed with his muggle Aunt and Uncle leaving the world waiting for the delightful day the child would return to his parents’ world.

Little Harry Potter never knew of his great fame in the magical world. In fact, he didn’t even know the world existed.

Instead, he jolted awake to the sound of his Aunt Petunia screeching, “Up, up boy up!” rapping on his bedroom door. Harry tried to shake the lingering tendrils of sleep from himself. He gently swept a lone spider from his leg and crawled to his door pushing it open. He grimaced at the light from the nearby window in the living room sending daggers of sun into his eyes. 

The streaks of sunlight make him want to crawl back to the cupboard under the stairs, curl up in his blankets and sleep until late in the afternoon.

Instead, he forced himself to walk to the kitchen, his ears automatically tuning out the stern words of his aunt that weren’t commands. While she tended to the pancakes, Harry retrieved the pack of bacon from the tray in the fridge taking and finding a pan. Placing it on the stove, he poured the bacon into the warm pan. He flinched, dropping the spatula when a bubble of grease popped and splashed his arm.

“Idiot boy,” his aunt grumbled, taking the spatula.

Catching the silent hint, Harry moved over and started managing the pancakes. He preferred pancakes anyway. As long as Aunt Petunia made the batter, he never got into trouble over pancakes. He flipped a bubbling pancake as the sound of his cousin waking up shook the house. Harry placed the finished pancake on a separate plate with two others and a fork.

The moment his cousin poked his head in, Harry set the plate down and stood near him counting down from three.

“Freak,” Dudley said. “Get the syrup.”

Harry walked the two feet to the counter and grabbed the syrup bottle. He’d tried just putting the bottle on the table to start with, but that had resulted in being smacked in the head despite being told to set out food for Aunt Petunia’s, ”Hungry Diddykins.” He wasn’t sure why exactly but he’d adapted. At the very least, Dudley shared snacks with him when Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon weren’t paying attention. He’d prefer it if Dudley stopped calling him “Freak” but either he got food or Dudley called him Harry. 

Harry listened to the water running upstairs and suppressed a smile as his Aunt Petunia began shuffling them out of the room. He snagged a piece of bacon when she turned her back, taking more when Dudley held out his plate. Harry shoved his piece in his mouth and poured more onto Dudley's plate. His cousin pretended not to see him and simply started demolishing his refilled plate.

At the sound of the water upstairs turning off, Harry rushed to get a second plate ready for his uncle. Aunt Petunia had finally finished the pancake so he carefully snatched three of them for Uncle Vernon before serving Dudley his two. His aunt scanned the kitchen and deemed that he hadn’t done a terrible job and handed him a single piece of bacon.

“Go wash off boy,” she commanded. 

Harry muttered a quiet, “Yes Aunt Petunia” and slipped away. He devoured his piece of bacon and waited for his uncle to come down the stairs. He stared at his feet not daring to look up at him and waited until he heard the sound of a kitchen chair scraping the floor and a creak stating his uncle was now seated then went up the stairs. Passing by Dudley’s second bedroom, Harry veered into the bathroom. First, he looked in the mirror checking the tape on his glasses one last time before grabbing a rag from the closet. He stripped down and turned on the sink.

His aunt and uncle didn’t like wasting too much water on a strange freakish boy like him so he tried to be quick with his wiping, only really focusing on his hair and any mud he accumulated from watching his aunt’s flowers. Then shivering, he dried himself off and redressed himself in the same rags he’d worn for three days now. Brushing his teeth in record time, Harry evacuated the bathroom just as his cousin zoomed in and slammed the door shut.

Harry shrugged and went back downstairs sneaking by the kitchen where his aunt and uncle lingered and slipped back into the safe blissful darkness of his cupboard. He thought about settling back down for a nap before he and Dudley were ushered outside to walk to school. He decided against it not in the mood to be smacked in the head and instead rifled through his ragged bag checking to be certain that it contained his homework pages. That done he went about tidying his cupboard- folding his blankets, placing his pillow just under it, and then searched for Padfoot. Upon spotting him, Harry cuddled the toy to his chest and stroked his back lovingly.

“Diddy! Boy! Out! It’s time for school!”

Harry packed his stuffed dog into his bag and went to stand outside on the porch. It’d be a bit longer before Dudley came out.

\---

Harry stifled an annoyed sigh. He grabbed the latest paper ball that bounced off of his head. He stuffed it in his bag to recycle later. He tried to listen to his teacher talking but Dudley’s friends had it out for him. He didn’t know why- Dudley was hardly mean to him but his friends considered him a free-range punching bag. He guessed it also had to do with Dudley never actually stopping them. He leaned out of the way of yet another paper ball attack and watched it fly by him and smack into the back of the teacher. Harry held his breath with the rest of the class as the teacher whirled around, eyes flashing with annoyance. Spotting the crumpled paper laying on the ground, she picked it up.

“Who threw this?” she asked with her eyes landing accusingly on every student before her.

“Harry did it,” quickly accused a boy- Pierre. Harry really didn’t like Pierre. He was a tattletale and a liar. He always blames Harry for everything and like always, his teacher believed him. Harry swallowed his cry of protest knowing it wouldn’t do any good. 

“Harry, stay after class.,” the woman told him right before the bell rang. With a victorious smirk, Pierre booked it from the classroom with his bag high-fiving one of his friends at the doorway. 

Harry remained in his seat careful to keep his face blank. 

This wasn’t the first time he’d gotten in trouble for something he hadn’t done but there wasn’t a point in trying to tell her that. Mrs. K seemed to hate him even more than his uncle did. Harry was glad he only saw her on school days instead of weekends too. All she ever did was snap at the kids. He had mostly tuned her ranting out, waiting for her to get to the end of her speech so he could apologize for Pierre’s paper ball and go home. Mrs. K changed the script and snapped him from his blanking by gripping his shoulders and started shaking him sternly.

She was saying something, probably still going on and on about his disobedience but really Harry could only focus on being shook harder and harder. He tried to push her away and her nails sank into his shoulders pinching lightly. He started struggling frantically yelling, “Let me go! Let me go Mrs. K!” He was panicking and started feeling fear creep up his back and something sharp and prickly formed in the pit of his stomach. It became a pressure that rose faster the more nervous he got. Then a soft  _ bang  _ filled the air and Harry watched his teacher go flying back and smack into the wall.

He stared in surprise watching her struggle to understand the situation. Then his instincts kicked in and he grabbed his bag. He sprinted from the classroom and then escaped the school itself. He ran as fast as he could until the school building was completely out of sight. He slowed himself down panting with exhaustion and eventually sat down against an ally wall. He set his head against the bricks and closed his eyes replaying the entire scene. 

‘What happened?’ he wondered to himself. ‘What was the bang?’

His contemplation slowly devolved from curious speculation to outright panic.

“She’s going to tell Uncle Vernon,” he realized. He shuddered and curled into a small ball tightly gripping his knees at the realization. He’d managed to sneak and hide some granola bars in various places in his cupboard so if he was punished with another food ban, he’d be okay. He didn’t have any water bottles but that was probably a good thing in case he was given bathroom bans. He pushes himself to his feet and begins to slowly trudge home thinking to himself. He ran down a list of everything he’s done for Dudley as of late hoping to everything in existence that it’s enough for his cousin to do him some favors.

He kept an ear out for Pierre’s Harry Hunting pack but since Harry had gotten in trouble earlier that day, he was at least assured that Pierre wouldn’t be harassing him until tomorrow. All the same, he stuck to his shortcuts through alleys and slipping through the yards of people that don’t mind. He took the risk of slipping through Mr. Bentley’s yard heaving a deep breath of relief when excited barking of dogs was muffled by the walls they were confined by in the house. Finally coming upon the plain painted, blandly perfect house that was his own, Harry took a deep breath and started running through the script followed from here.

He walked up to the poor step bracing himself. He’d barely set foot on the porch when the door was flung open. Harry flinched violently but his uncle ignored it, roughly grabbing his arm and screaming at him. Harry felt a stab of anger at Mrs. K- he hadn’t done anything! But he swallowed his anger and carefully cleared his face of any obvious emotions. He didn’t want to be smacked again.

“What do you have to say for yourself Boy?”

Harry stared up at his uncle quietly muttering, “I’m sorry.”

“I told you to stop your- your-  _ freakishness _ !”

“I know. I’m sorry.”

Uncle Vernon yelled at him for another hour before throwing him in his cupboard. Harry heard the sound of the wood lock turning as it scraped against the door and trapped him inside. He pulled the string from the light dangling over his head. At least his uncle had thrown his bag in the cupboard with him. Harry tugged out his worksheets from school and managed to find a mostly sharpened pencil. With a sigh,he ignored his suddenly ravenous belly and the light parchedness of his mouth and focused on numbers.

\---

Harry thought he’d never be released from the cupboard again. Just when he’d been freed the first time, he’d gone and somehow set a snake free from the zoo. His uncle had, once again, locked him firmly in the closet and by the time he got out, the summer holidays had started up. With no more school, Harry and Dudley were all but kicked out of the house at 10am only allowed to return around sunset. Harry had spent much of his time roaming Privet Drive and exploring other backways. It also gave Harry the ability to eat properly. So many neighbors had small fruits and other snacks he could snag without their notice.

He wondered if it was normal that he enjoyed spending his days in the alleys of the houses, closer to the edges of the neighborhood with a small pouch of berries. That he liked curling up with a little book to nap away from other people. Harry supposed it didn’t matter very much- he was already a freak. Maybe other freaks liked being in the alleyways.

His aunt and uncle had started prepping him and Dudley for their new school. When Dudley put on his Smeltings uniform (an unflattering mixture of bright orange and maroon) it was the first time in a while that Harry had to swallow his laughter as Dudley shot him a look of misery. 

The tables turned on the spot with Harry suppressing a grimace as Dudley seemed to crack his ribs laughing at the large, soaked rags that would be his uniform.

“Well,” Dudley had grinned. “You’ll make a good mop now.”

Harry had pinched him behind his uncle’s back.

Sitting at the dinner table, his Uncle was still telling Dudley all about his experiences in Smelting and how Dudley will enjoy it. Harry and Dudley exchanged a look when his uncle turned away as he started rambling about his escapades with the girls in his class.

Harry tilted his head as his uncle became particularly graphic about an encounter in a broom closet. He glanced at his aunt and while her face was red and she was glowering at her plate, she made no effort to intervene. Harry blinked. Would he be expected to do all of this when  _ he  _ went to school? Some of that stuff sounded kinda gross.

_ I’m already a freak,  _ decided Harry.  _ I’ll just keep being a freak and not do it. _

From the slightly disturbed look on Dudley’s face, his cousin agreed with Harry’s silent decision.

The clinking of the mail slot sounded and Harry scrambled to his feet both anticipating the command to retrieve the mail but also relieved to have an excuse to escape the conversation. He crouched in the hall grabbing all of the mail on the floor beginning to shuffle the mail, separating them as bills, letters and postcards as his aunt and uncle like it. Two bills, a postcard from his uncle’s sister (he shuddered seeing her name) before he spotted an odd yellow envelope that seemed out of place of all the pale ones. Harry blinked seeing his name. The yellow parchment was rough and very elegant looking. He put the letter the top to read:

_ Mr H. Potter _

_ The Cupboard Under the Stairs _

_ 4, Privet Drive _

_ Little Whinging, Surrey _

Harry blinked again. Then he rubbed his eyes, staring.

A letter.

For him.

Harry could honestly count on one hand how many people he knew would write him a letter and not even use three fingers. 

He flipped it over and noted a seal with a lion, a snake, an eagle and a badger surrounded by an elegant letter “H.” He ran his finger over the seal, feeling the grooves and the impressive raised texture. 

A real wax seal. 

Harry started to open the letter when Uncle Vernon’s voice shouted from the kitchen.

“Boy! What’s taking so long?!”

Harry quickly gathered the letters and ran back into the kitchen handing his Uncle the mail and sat in his chair, hiding the letter in his shirt. He caught Dudley’s eye and his cousin stole a piece of ham from Harry’s plate. He sighed quietly in relief- Dudley wouldn’t tell if Harry let him have the ham tax. Dinner went on uneventfully with his Uncle grumbling about the number of bills they have and price of the electricity. He and Dudley were just glad he’d stopped talking about his exploits with school girls.

Dinner ended and Petunia ordered Harry to clean up the kitchen as usual and escorted Dudley off to bed. Harry packed up the food in tupperware bowls and stuffed them into the fridge carefully to make two plates. He set one on the table and left the other in the microwave. He moved everything into the sink and started to wash them listening to the creak of the floor being the telltale sign of his cousin’s approach. He grabbed a fork, turned and handed it to him. Dudley flashed him a grin and then disappeared up the stairs into his room.

Harry finished washing the dishes, wiping the stove and sweeping the floor. Checking the clock in the living room, he turned off the lights and slipped into his cupboard. He pulled the string to turn on his little light and pulled the letter from his oversized shirt. He ran his fingers over the yellow parchment’s textured surface. He turned it over and over in his hands a few more times before finally deciding to open it. So carefully picking at the edge, desperately trying not to tear the envelope (moot point, it tore anyway) and extracted the letter from inside. With tenderness, he unfolded the paper and read the top:

_ HOGWARTS, SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY _

_ Headmaster: Albus Dumbledoor (Order of Merlin, Grand Sorcerer, Chief Warlock, International Confederation of Wizards) _

_ Dear Mr Potter,  _

_ We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted into Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry by nature of a parental enrollment. You will find a list of all necessary books and equipment enclosed in this envelope.  _

_ As you have been identified as a muggle-raised person, a member of school staff will be sent to help you in the proceeding collection of your school supplies. Term begins on September 1. Please respond to this owl before August 29 if you have any questions or concerns about your impending enrollment. _

_ Yours sincerely, _

_ Minerva McGonagall, Deputy Headmistress _

_ Recorded with Raven Feather _

Harry nearly crumbled the note up then and there. Magic? How ridiculous.

But then, the more he thought about… the more it made sense. How he’d managed to float gently down from the top of the school stairs when Pierre pushed him. How he managed to blast Mrs. K across the room. When he freed the snake and it spoke to him. It was… magic.  _ Magic.  _ His gaze fell on the part about parental enrollment. His parents had gone to this school. His mom and dad. Something blossomed in his chest, tickling his brain. His freakishness was magic- his parents were magic. He  _ had magic! _

Harry wiggled joyously in his cupboard trying to keep quiet so as not to wake his Aunt and Uncle. A real magic person would drop by. His aunt and uncle wouldn’t be able to stop a real wizard. He tugged Padfoot into his chest, placed the letter back in its envelope and laid down vibrating with anticipation. He grabbed his blanket and pulled it over himself smiling in his sleep.

\---

Two weeks later, Harry jumped when he heard a knocking sound. He’d spent the entire time peeking out the windows and excitedly waiting for his wizarding escort. He’d been popped on the back of the head three times during this wait as he’d been dropping plates and forgetting to mop the bathroom floor sometimes. He practically sprinted to the doorway before his Uncle could even tell him to go answer the door. Harry took the time to make Dudley’s oversized clothes look a bit better on him. Then taking a deep breath, he opened the door.

“Hi-” Harry stopped and looked up. And up. Wow.

A tall, scruffy bearded man with dark eyes stood before him. Harry likened him to a human version of a wall. Every step the tall man took into the home shook the floor as Harry led him into the living room that he fills almost entirely by himself. A pair of other kids followed after him. A brunette with striking brown eyes seemed to stare him down. Harry shuffled and found himself tugging the oversized shirt he was wearing suddenly very aware of his scruffy appearance.

"'llo there," the giant man said. His voice was deep and boomy but warm. Friendly.

"Boy! Who is it?!" His Uncle demanded storming from the kitchen. Harry had to suppress a smirk when his bright red face, twisted with anger went very pale seeing the man who had to hunch over a bit in the living room.

“Alright there?”

“Tuney! Tuney! One of those- those  _ freaks  _ are here!”

Harry sighed, barely resisting the urge to facepalm as his face went red from embarrassment. Great. Now his Uncle was gonna make the giant think there was something wrong with him. As Harry lamanted himself, Dudley wandered in curiously.

“Who’s that?”

“Dunno,” said Harry. “But he’s supposed to be magic.”

“Magic?” asked Dudley with skepticism so Harry offered him his letter. Dudley unfolded and read the entire letter, his eyes growing wider with every word.

“Cool,” he said looking up at Hagrid wide-eyed. “So you’re a magician?”

The wall of a man grinned, “‘m a wizard, yes.”

“So cool! Can I learn magic too?”

Harry rolled his eyes when his Aunt- who’d just come sprinting into the living room- went stiff and  _ gasped  _ in horror.

“What have you done to Dudley?!” his Uncle demanded furiously. “Poison him with your freakishness- Dudley, you won’t be going anywhere with those freaks!”

Harry caught his cousin's alarmed expression as Uncle Vernon was just about foaming at the mouth in a right panic.

“Duds,” he said and Dudley glanced over. “Maybe you should take Uncle Vernon upstairs.”

Dudley nodded and handed Harry his letter back, “Okay- you gotta tell me about the magic school later.”

“I will,” Harry agreed.

Dudley grabbed his Vernon’s elbow and tugged gently coaxing him up the stairs and out of eye-shot even if his aggressive shouting could still be heard and the room shook a bit with his Uncle’s angry stomping.

Harry returned his attention to an angry looking man and two confused and startled kids.

“Sorry,” he apologized. “Uncle Vernon isn’t comfortable around magic.”

“That’s understating it,” muttered the brown haired girl.

Harry gave her a small smile, deciding to be as polite as possible and offered his hand, “Hi, I’m Harry. Nice to meet you.”

The girl smiled and shook his hand, “Hermione.”

Harry glanced up at the boy hiding behind the large man’s leg. He blushed catching Harry’s gaze, “Thomas” he told Harry.

“Nice to meet you Thomas,” Harry said and looked at the tall man who ruffled his hair but almost knocked him over from the strength of the action.

“I’m Hagrid- ‘m the grounds-keep at Hogwarts,” informed the wall in person form.

His aunt made a sound like a mouse having a heart attack and Harry glanced at her for a second in concern before returning his attention to Hagrid.

“Were my parents really wizards?” he asked hesitantly.

“Best there ever was,” Hagrid said proudly. “Saddest day was when they were killed.”

Harry’s train of thought screeched to a halt.

_ Killed? _

“...killed?” he voiced in confusion. “But I- they didn’t-”

He whipped around to look at his aunt who was once more turning a deep near purple shade of red and refusing to look at him.

“They didn’t die in a car crash?”

“Car crash?!” Hagrid demanded, “Durley! What lies have you been feeding this boy? Car crash? As if Lily ‘n James could be offed by some muggle machine!”

“I wouldn’t have my Dudley grow up hearing my freakish sister! Infected as I could’ve been! Our parents didn’t care that I could’ve been poisoned by her freakishness when she came back with freaky potions! I saw her for what she was… a freak! And an abomination! When she got blown up with the filthy freak she married it was karma!”

“ _ Blown up _ ?” Harry whispered, his eyes going wide as Hagrid bellowed an angered, “ _ Don’t you insult Lily ‘n James in front of me!” _

His Uncle started thundering back down the stairs from where he was eavesdropping ignoring Dudley’s pleas for him to stay put screaming, “Don’t you yell at my wife you damn-”

Hagrid whipped out a pink umbrella and snarled something that Harry didn’t understand.

His uncle howled in pain and gripped his backside. Petunia sprung up and raced over to him- Harry wasn’t sure if it was fear for her husband or of Hagrid- and helped Vernon up the stairs. It took him a minute of searching but Harry was finally able to see a pink, curley tail poking through his pants.

"Was supposed to turn 'im ‘nto a pig," Hagrid huffed. "Guess he was so much pig already, there wasn't much left to do."

Harry snickered fighting down the embarrassment of other people seeing his uncle like that. Privately he agreed, Harry bet if his uncle sat in a pig farm, no one would be able to tell the difference.

"Is he always like that?"

Harry returned his attention to Hermione.

"Loud?" she clarified.

"Yeah," Harry agreed. Hagrid looked both ways before motioning that they follow him across the street to a small, rickety looking pub on the corner. He had to focus on looking at it- anytime another thought entered his mind, his eyes slid right off of it. Looking at his present companions, Harry was relieved to see they were also struggling to look. Everyone else around them didn’t even acknowledge it, their heads turning immediately to the record shop beside it.

“The Leaky Cauldron,” Hagrid told them, leading them in. 

The inside was just what Harry expected- dark, shabby and a little flakey with a homely aura. Older ladies sat in a corner sipping brightly colored drinks and across from them, some men playing a card game. A toothless walnut of a balding man was chatting with the bartender. As they passed through, everyone seemed to know Hagrid greeting him with smiles and waves- they glanced at the band of children behind him but otherwise paid them little attention.

“The usual Hagrid?” asked the bartender with a smile.

The giant shook his head, “Can’t Tom- got new kids- muggleborns.”

The man laughed and people listening in smiled at them even more warmly with amusement radiating from them. Tom leaned on the bar itself looking up at Hagrid.

“Off to Diagon Alley huh?” Tom remared grinning. “Have a nice time- no one forgets their first visit to Diagon Alley.”

Hagrid grinned right back and led them the rest of the way through the pub. Tom winked as they came to a side door and returned to serving his customers. Harry blinked- leaving the side door they stepped into a walled courtyard with a cracked stone land, scraggy bushes and dead weeds sprouting from the cracks painting a sad and barrern picture. Harry wasn’t the only one looking at Hagrid in confusion.

Hagrid laughed at their bewildered expressions and grabbed his umbrella muttering other his breath as he approached the one lone trashcan standing against the wall.

“Right three up, two across…” Hagrid tapped a specific spot on the wall and the bricks seemed to tremble.

Harry stumbled back in shock with the two other kids with him. The brick tapped then wiggled and it seemed to vanish leaving a small hole- steadily the hole grew wider and wider peeling away revealing a cobblestone archway tall enough for even Hagrid to step through standing upright.

Harry blinked very slowly.

"Wow," whispered Hermione.

_ Wow,  _ agreed Harry wishing he had more eyes than he did before.

Diagon Alley was bustling with movement and people. It looked like the shows of kids wandering about in mystical worlds come to life. As Hagrid escorted them through Harry noticed it was like a normal trip shopping but with a distinctly magic twist. Kids crowded around store windows gawking at toys but these toys were broomsticks and talking chess pieces. Kids were begging to go in candy shops but the shops were filled with moving chocolate and squeaking gummies. Even normal stores with little baskets of produce took a turn for the weird when Harry caught signs advertising 5% off every pound of newt eyes purchased in bulk.

"Stay together," Hagrid told them. "Diagon Alley is large."

"Hagrid," Thomas began hesitantly. "How are we going to pay for our stuff? I don't have money."

Hagrid smiled, guiding them to asteep, intricate looking stairs with rails that looked like crawling bracken that led to a large intricate looking building. It was huge and imposing compared to the other smaller, more compact buildings surrounding it. Harry guessed it was three stories- a balcony designed to look like a nest on each barring the ground level with feathered people guarding the doors to each. All of the railings were painted to look like branches and the walls of the building painted white with brown borders.

Two tall figures guarded the bottom of the stairs. As they got closer to the guards, Harry realized their “hair” was actually a crest of feathers growing and had to clench his jaw to keep it from falling open. The guards bore long, black pants but Harry was more focused on the long, beautiful feathered tails they had. They had serious faces that became softer and friendlier when she overlooked the small group of children wandering after Hagrid. One of the guards smiled at his awe and nodded to him as if used to it. 

“Kava,” addressed one of the guards as Hagrid walked them up to the enormous, bronze doors decorated with paintings of vines and leaves.

Hagrid nodded back with a friendly smile and kept ushering on the kids.

Walking in, Harry saw a wall of desks with other birdlike people sitting at them- most with kind smiles talking to people in robes or with long staffs. People were signing documents, filling out forms, handing in forms and exchanging things.

On the other side were people climbing into carts with the bird people and driving in and out of site.

Harry did his best to not stare at the bird-like people in long flowing robes. Hagrid led them right up to a tanish bird person- their pattern reminded him of the jays he’d see balanced on the fence or pecking at seeds on the ground under bushes or trees. The birdman gave Harry a little smile as if he could tell he was a little nervous.

Hagrid placed his arm over his chest and gave a slight bow that the birdman reflected.

“Alright there?” asked Hagrid.

“Zavikki is doing just fine kava- what can Zavikki assist you with?”

“I need to get these kids their school books,” Hagrid said.

“Ah, so you need to visit the Muggleborn fund, yes Zavikki can do that for you,” agreed Zavikki.

The rakkor led them down to a cart that was painted to look like a nest on rail tracks. The feathered man shot the nervous looking children a reassuring look. Harry kept close to Hermione who was nervously eyeing the seemingly rickety old railings. The inside of the cart at least had seats along the edge of the cart and seat-buckles for the kid although none of them were long enough for Hagrid.

“S’all right you lot,” Hagrid soothed. “These old tracks ‘ave been ‘ere fer years and they’re strong as ever.”

Harry eyed Hagrid taking in his massive size once more and relaxed slightly deciding that if these rails could hold Hagrid- presumably with others Hagrid’s size- it  _ should _ be able to hold him too. He climbed in and quickly fastened the buckle- he had no intentions of flying out after all.

“Zavikki asks that kava-zi keeps their fingers and arms inside the cart as it moves very fast and Zavikki would not want you hurt.”

Thomas quickly pulled his arm back into the cart blushing as he folded his hands in his lap. Harry tensed a little as the cart began to move forward ever so slowly to begin with. Hermione shuffled closer to Hagrid who offered her his hand which she took for reassurance. Hermione then let out a shriek of terror as the cart promptly fell. Harry himself stumbled despite being seated just from the abrupt speed.

There were two more tracks on the left of their cart with another person screaming like Hermione. Once he’d adjusted to the speed and the swift, sudden turns of the cart around the corners and bends, Harry found himself enjoying the ride. He let out a call of delight, cheering with joy barely remembering to keep his hands down.

Zavikki chuckled at his reaction.

Much to Harry’s disappointment, the cart slowed to a stop in front of a massive vault. The same symbol from his letter was blown up to a massive size on the door. The eyes of the animals seemed to glimmer with intelligence that Harry was certain isn’t part of statues. The snake was watching them as they approached, mouth opened and fangs bared as he stared. Zavikki climbed gracefully from the cart and leapt soundly on the space in front of the door. Hagrid pulled a card from his pocket and put it in the mouth of the snake. It closed its mouth and turned back to the floor facing the lion and there was a large clanking noise as the vault door rumbled and slid to the slide.

Hagrid led them in and Harry’s head twisted around in every direction taking in the room. It had 12 large cabinets off to the left side divided into groups of three by color. The first four were a yellow/gold and the four next to those were a silvery color, four more were orangey brown and the last were a pretty if minty green. Hagrid reached on top of the cabinet and picked up four brown pouches handing one to each of the kids then opened one of the drawers to the golden cabinet.

“Take 20 o’ these,” he instructed before motioning to the silver cabinet, then the brown, then the green. “Then 40, then two ‘andfuls o’ the last”

Harry reached in first, quickly counting his 20 and the stepping over so Hermione could get hers. When he was done, Harry waited with Hagrid by door inspecting one of the gold coins. The side he decided was the head had an image of a man with a long beard and a flopped hat with Gringotts engraved near the edge of it. The other side had a pair of dragons that were intertwined together with a bunch of numbers at the bottom of it. He wanted to look at another coin when Hagrid gently shook his shoulder and he looked up seeing the other kids having already climbed into the cart.

Harry dropped his coins back into his pouch and quickly clambered into the cart blushing lightly. He fastened his seatbelt and held onto his pouch tightly lifting his head up to enjoy the wind blowing on his face. Once they arrived back in the main room, the feathered man helped them out of the cart.

“Is there anything else Zavikki can do for you?”

“Ye, can you get paper for the Potter vault? ‘Arry deserves to have access to his funds.”

The feathered man stared a little at Harry as if only just meeting him before nodding, “Yes of course- Zavikki doesn’t know how he didn’t notice… the scar… come along now young kaazavi.”

Harry looked at Hagrid who gave him a reassuring smile. So he took the offered hand of the feathered man and moved to one of the desks with no one in line.

“Azavva,” the first feathered man said with a smile. “All’s well?”

“Well as the sky’s clear,” responded the other bird. Catching Harry’s curious eyes observing the new line of feathers on her, she asked, “Ah, never seen Rakkor kava-zi?”

“Kaazavi was fledged razban,” explained Zavikki.

“Kaazavi?”

“By the sky- this is the Potter child- he is here for his trust.”

“Ah, Azavva offers her apologies kaazavi. She merely assumed you to be another wizarding child.”

The rakkan proceeded to raise her hand, a ring donned on her finger that glowed as she announced, “Azavva requires the Potter Trust forms.”

Harry jumped and stared in awe as several file cabinets behind her opened and papers flew out, zooming over and landing on the desk before her, neatly stacking themselves up. Azavva began flipping through the forms before offering a page with a lot of words on it- a blank space with an ‘x’ next to the line was at the bottom.

“Azavva asks you to sign for your trust. This page here states that kaazavi will use the funds in their trust vault and only their trust vault until kaazavi reaches 21 cycles of life.”

Harry blinked slowly processing what was said to him.

_ Oh, I use the trust fund until I’m 21. If I use it all before, then I have to make my own money. _

The rakkan offered him a quill that he stared at before accepting. He signed his name as best as he could, wincing as it creaked and the ink splattered across the parchment leaving random spots of wet ink. He gave the quill black, his face flushing at the mess he’d made.

“Don’t pluck your feathers over that kaazavi- most kava-zi your age have never held a quill. Kaazavi is not the first, nor will they be the last to ruin their ink.”

Harry smiled a little, as Azavva picked up the paper and handed him one he hadn’t seen under it.

“This is kaazavi’s copy of their form. Please allow the crests in your life to review and owl Azavva any question kaazavi may have.”

“Okay,” Harry agreed and allowed himself to be led away as Zavikki told her, “The clouds clear for you.”

“May the sun warm your wings,” Azavva called after him.

Zavikki brought Harry over to where Hagrid and the others were waiting by the door.

“All is done- may Zavikki assist you in anything else?”

“No, thanks fer yer help,” Hagrid said with a smile.

“Zavikki was most honored,” the rakkan responded, inclining his head. “”The clouds clear for you.”

“May the sun warm your wings,” Harry repeated what Azavva said.

Zavikki gave him a surprised but pleased smile, “And I offer you nothing but warm streams.”

Harry waved and followed the others outside.

“Where’d you hear that?” Hermione asked curiously.

“The other rakkor said it,” Harry informed.

“Rakkor?”

“That’s what they said they are.”

“Huh,” remarked Hermione. “...so you’re famous right?”

Harry shrugged.

“I’m just Harry.”

“To you,” Hagrid noted. “I’ll tell ya the whole story about yer parents when I bring you home.

Harry felt a pinch of relief that he wouldn’t have to learn about his parents’...  _ murder  _ in front of other people.

“Right, suppose we start with yer wands.”

Harry and Hermione beamed and he spotted a grin on Thomas’ face. Hagrid chuckled at their delight and directed them to a tall thin, shabby looking shop almost smushed together between two large, overflowing buildings that seem to be trying to crush the shop between them. “Ollivander’s Wandshop” was posted just over the door in peeling, gold letters. 

In the display window to the right of the door was a beautiful black wand with pretty carvings with carvings in it resting on a purple pillow faded and that was bleached from the sun.

Hagrid pushed open the door and a little chime sound from above the door. Harry glanced up at it as dragged from the top of the door and smiled as it seemed to be made of little bits of shaped broken glass and pretty beads. Harry held the door for Hermione and Thomas as Hagrid ducked under the doorframe and stayed slightly hunched over to protect his head.

With Hagrid in, Harry took the time to observe the shop and saw the walls lined with nothing but boxes of tall thin boxes packed into separate sectors. Hundreds and hundreds of them- there was even a basket of random ones piled on the counter in front of him. He jumped hearing a little trill and glanced down at a basket sat next to the long counter with a large black bird with a long tail. He stared in surprise when the long tail fanned out.

“Woah,” gasped Thomas. “I thought peacocks were only blue!”

“Vadus is one of a kind yes.”

Harry stepped back as an old man with silvery eyes and white hair approached looking them over. He flinched when the man reached out and started tracing his scar with his finger. He reached up and smacked his hand away, startled and moved back behind Hagrid. Harry assumed this was Ollivander. The man seemed unbothered by his response instead looking to Hagrid.

“Good day Hagrid,” he said smiling and Harry shivered. “Hogwarts students? Yes indeed. And you’ve bought Mr. Potter, splendid. I cannot wait to match him with his wand. Do you still possess your wand? 16 inches, oak, rather bendy?”

“Yep,” Hagrid professed, raising his umbrella. 

“I do expect you’ve been caring for it?”

“Yessir- it’s polished twice a week.”

“Good, very good. Well let’s get on with it.” he motioned for Thomas to come over which the boy did with discomfort.

Ollivander opened a box and handed it to him.

“Wave it,” he commanded.

Thomas didn’t even get his arm fully up before Ollivander had snatched it from his hand.

“No no, that’s wrong..”

“Ollivanders’s always made the best wands in England,” Hagrid told them. “Makes ‘em special, he does. Two woods and one core.”

“No one else has managed to weave two woods together in England- shows their lack of skill. Why in India, all the wands I’ve seen were woven.”

As he said this, Ollivander was handing Thomas wand after wand before the boy waved it and an arc of light burst from the tip, a smile lighting up Thomas’ face. He looked at the wand as if it was an old friend of his.

Ollivander nodded determinedly, “Oak and cedar, core of kneazle whisker. 9 inches, fairly stiff.”

Hermione went next and went through twice as many wands before she arrived on, “Walnut and sugar maple, core of dragon heartstring 10 inches and three quarters- inflexible.”

Then it was Harry’s turn. He reached for a wand as the door chimed again. Harry glanced over and barely stopped himself from gawking.

Alongside a tall, stern looking woman, stepped a small girl with long black hair locked in many small dreads pulled back in a ponytail. Dressed in casual black trousers and a simple red shirt, Harry’s attention was fixated on her purple skin with a series of even darker stripes on her arms and around her face. Blue eyes met green and she looked away from him as if panicked.

“It’s okay,” the woman soothed before levelling Harry with a stern look. “It’s rude to stare.”

Harry blushed and looked away muttering an apology and turned back to Ollivander who was still offering a wand.

Harry took it and he’d hardly touched it when Ollivander snatched it from his hands- “No no of course not”- and handed him another which was again snatched from him. Harry took the longest of all his friends- not that Ollivander seemed to mind, he seemed to get more and more excited every time the wand wasn’t right (“Oh I do love a challenge!”) and the pile grew larger and larger.

Finally, he was handed a wand- “holly and reed 10 inches, nice and supple, core of phoenix feather” -and the second his fingers wrapped around it, a sensation of warmth ran up his arm and he waved his arm instinctively. An explosion of red and gold sparkles filled the air and Harry felt like a part of his soul he’d never known was missing had returned to him. A grin blossomed on his face unconsciously.

“Curious, very curious…” Ollivander muttered almost to himself before locking his attention on Harry. “I remember every wand I’ve ever made. The phoenix who gave your wand it’s feather also gave one other- that brother wand gave you that scar.”

Harry felt the air around him chill although he didn’t quite know why. Hagrid’s face turned stiff and the woman by the door stepped closer to the purple girl.

“That wand is great,” he said mournfully. “Its wielder horrid, but the wand great.”’

Harry just nodded feeling the warm and happy aura fading from the air.

“Dani, it’s your turn,” the woman said kindly.

The purple girl-  _ Dani _ \- stepped forward appearing uncomfortable. 

Ollivander handed her a wand and like before, snatched it away seconds from her holding it. Dani flinched violently and seemed apprehensive about taking the next wand. Ollivander’s face hardened into something unreadable before becoming soft. He handed her another wand and watched her wave it before taking it- noticeably more gently than before. Dani took about as long as Harry before Ollivander paused while reaching for another wand.

“Minerva,” he directed at the woman. “Do you know where the child’s parents come from?”

“Three generations ago, India,” responded Minerva.

Ollivander nodded and wandered down the rows of wands before picking up one small box and opening it. He walked back, handing her the wand which she took very cautiously from him. She took a deep breath and waved it. A smile lit up her face and blue light danced from the tip. Ollivander nodded with satisfaction.

“Pine and reed, core of runespoor fang- one from each head merged together.”

Hagrid went stiff and eyed the girl with a new sense of wariness. Minerva stared him down and Hagrid averted his eyes.

Now that everyone had a wand, Ollivander brought out a variety of leather wand holsters for them to pick from. Hermione took one with blue around the edges that affixed to her arm. Thomas got one that’s also attached to his arm but chose brown as the predominant color. Harry chose one that’s attached to his belt loops (mostly green) and Dani picked up one that was fastened around her hips that was blue. Then, they were all given wand polish and a case to hold them and paid for all of their things with 9 galleons each.

“Where are you headed next?” asked Minerva.

“Pet shop,” Hagrid informed. “They need owls.”

Harry wasn’t the only one who perked up.

When they walked outside of the shop, Harry was promptly barked at by a large balck and white dog with its tongue hanging out. It was just about up to Harry’s hip wearing a purple harness with a little tag that read, “Kahlo.” Hermione froze in the doorway, her eyes going wide as the dog stretched its head towards her wagging it’s curled over tail. Dani pushed her a little and Hermione jumped to the side.

As soon as Dani stepped out, the dog started barking like crazy and wagging so hard it had to sit down. Dani reached into her pocket before putting her hand above the dog.

“Kahlo, sazakisa!” Dani said sternly.

The dog sat panting happily and started barking instead.

“Kahlo, sasachi lys.”

The dog stopped barking.

“Kaassama,” whispered Dani and fed the dog a treat “Nakaasi,” she added to Hermione.

“Um,” Hermione tilted her head. “It’s okay?”

“She’s friendly,” Dani said. “Too friendly. Nakaasi.”

“It’s okay,” Hermione repeated having concluded like Harry that  _ Nakaasi  _ meant, “I’m sorry.”

“What kind of dog is she?” asked Thomas, appearing to gain confidence in the presence of a dog.

“Canaan/kelpie,” she mumbled. 

“That’s a working dog,” Thomas said with surprise.

“She herds,” Dani said.

“May I pet her?” asked Harry.

Dani nodded so Harry reached out and gently rubbed her back. He smiled when Kahlo twisted and licked his hand while wagging her tail.

“Good girl,” Harry praised.

Kahlo wagged her tail even harder.

When they started walking, Harry was impressed to see Kahlo keeping pace with Dani and even though she was looking everywhere, she didn’t dart off. She stayed right by Dani like a good dog- occasionally she stopped to sniff something on the ground but the second Dani said her name, she trotted right back up to her side wagging her tail. The second she came back, Dani gave her a treat and a kiss on her forehead.

Hagrid pushed open the door of a prettier, newer looking shop named Florence’s Magical Menagerie with fresher paint and letters that are firmly attached to the building. In the window on the left of the door, a big fat cat with long tufted ears and a fluffy tail tip laid in a basket licking its paws and stretching.

“On me,” Dani informed Kahlo and patted her back walking into the shop.

Harry’s eyes went wide as Hermione whispered, “wow” under her breath.

On the left are various different crates and terrariums for different animals. Harry saw lots of different kinds of mice and rats in their glass crates- black, brown, spotted- there were owls on perches on the other side of the shop ( _ Smart,  _ Harry thought to himself.  _ Keep the prey from the predators. _ ) and snakes in terrariums behind them.

“Ye should at the owls,” Hagrid informed. “Owls deliver mail. If ye want private mail, ya need personal owls.”

Taking this as a dismissal, they all split up.

Taking Hagrid’s advice to heart, Harry veered towards the owls. There were so many of them and all of them looking at him with curiosity. A brown one fanned his wings when he walked by and a black one hooted softly to him. Harry was about to ask if he could pet one when a weight settled onto his shoulder. He turned his head and came face to face with a gorgeous white owl with large beautiful yellow eyes.

“Hello,” Harry said gently. “What’s your name?”

He reached up and checked the little band around her leg.

“Hedwig,” he read aloud. “I like you. But your claws hurt.”

His words summoned a store employee from the back and she helped him put on a shoulder pad and choose a proper glove for him to wear to hold her. Harry recieved a  _ long  _ list of things to do with Hedwig- long enough he was wondering if it was actually worth it. Then she started trying to preen his hair and Harry handed over 7 Gallons and 5 sickles. 

Hagrid was kind enough to hold the cage for him while Hedwig rode on his shoulder. As the others walked back over, Harry took stock of the creatures they had. Hermione was carrying a squash-faced cat with vibrant and long orange fur and piercing amber eyes. Thomas walked over carrying a little black mouse in his hands. Dani had a little orangey-brown ferret cradled in her arms that Kahlo was looking up at.

“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” the store worker asked, looking between Kahlo and the ferret.

“Kahlo won’t hurt him,” Dani informed. “But he'd be in his cage for a while anyway while they learn they’re family.”

“Does he have a name?” Harry asked.

“No he was in the big crate with 3 others,” Dani informed. “But, I think I wanna call him, Kido or Kahs to match with Kahlo.”

“What do those names mean?” Hermione asked her.

“Kido is fire and Kahs is stream.”

“So Kahlo is…”

“Rain.”

“I say Kido- his fur is orange,” Thomas suggested.

Dani nodded thoughtfully, “I like Kido.”

Her sentences were still short, but Harry could tell he wasn’t the only one who could tell that Dani was loosening up. At the very least, she wasn't looking at them the way Harry looked at Pierre. She was even smiling a little now.

“I’m naming my rat… Ash cause he’s gray,” said Thomas. 

Hermione shrugged, “My cat already had a name- his name is Crookshanks and he’s beautiful.”

“Yatāoka yakaūchitavik,” Dani muttered.

Hermione looked at her suspiciously.

“Dani!” Minerva chided.

The girl seemed surprised, flinching at first to the scolding tone but calming when she saw amusement instead of anger. Harry got the feeling she wasn’t used to people understanding her language.

“Nakaasi,” she said with a little shrug.

“My owl,” Harry started drawing attention from Dani. “is named Hedwig. That’s what it says on her tag.”

“Everyone ready?” asked Minerva. When they all nodded she looked at Hagrid. “Uniforms? Or school supplies?”

* * *

**Rakkan Translations/Facts:**

-"fledged razban" -> raised without magic/muggle raised

-"kava-zi" -> a polite term for a wizarding child

-"kaazavi" -> hero or honored one when referring to a child

-"Don't pluck your feathers" -> don't make yourself sick or harmed with worry. The full phrase is "don't pluck your feathers over frosted branches" or "don't worry so much about small things"

-Rakkans don't use wands, they use special rings called raziko

-Rakkor speak in third person to strangers or when being polite, they only use their names when speaking to family or people they're close to

**Elvish Translations/Facts:**

"Kahlo, zakisa!" -> Kahlo, sit!

"Kaasama" -> Thank you

"Khalo, sasachi lys" -> Khalo, be quiet please (literally Kahlo, (you)quiet please

"Nakaasi" -> (I/Me) Sorry 

“Yatāoka yakaūchitavik" Dani is saying that Crookshanks looks like a victim of war

**Extra Info:**

-Ollivander's wands are so special because he braids two woods together using the techniques he's learned around the world.

-Ollivander is truly a wandmaster in the sense that given enough info about your family, he can guess your wand core and if he knows your personality, he can match the wood combo.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A quick summary:  
> -Dudley is nice  
> -Hermione is here early  
> -I am bad at Hagrid's accent  
> -Rakkor have replaced goblins  
> -Dani's been introduced  
> -Owls have a bit more necessary equipment
> 
> AUTHOR'S NOTE:  
> I'm sorry for how long this chapter took- originally I was combining like, 6 chapters together expecting them to be small because I have a bad habit of summarizing stories. Well, 9k words later, I realized I had to split this chapter up. This is the first time I've ever surpassed 4k words so despite the work load the fact this chapter is still technically not done due to the splitting, I'm very proud of myself. Thank you for your patience, hopefully the next chapter will be faster.


End file.
